Braised Leeks with a Soft Boiled Egg

I love the simplicity of this dish – that with only a few choice ingredients can something so scrumptious come from so meager beginnings. The humble egg, for some magical reason has transformative powers, like when they are fried and buttery atop mere slices of toast, or placed all poached and wobbly on a mound of asparagus. Whatever their platefellows eggs take centre stage, and this little recipe is no exception.

Soft boil 2 eggs (4 minutes in boiling water). Once cooked set aside in a bowful of iced water. Don’t remove the shells just yet.

Rinse the leeks thoroughly and slice them in half, first through the round and then lengthways as well. Remove all the thick outer leaves and keep only the white and bright green parts.

In a heavy based frying pan place 20g of butter a melt over a medium heat. Place the leeks flat aide down in the lightly bubbling butter and leave them until they start to char. Once they have taken on that lovely caramel colour add in the stock and water. Season, before turning the heat down low and simmering until all the liquid has evaporated.